I know a Guy
by PeinsC
Summary: Kurts image inducer breaks and Remy knows someone who can fix it (based after “The Stranger Things” series)


Hey my names Peinsc, (well not really, thank god!) and this is my first fanfic (hopefully I'll have more). It's based after the "Stranger Things" series that's written by Emcee. You should likely go read her series first. It's at Frodis.net and Fanfiction.net along with a lot of other fanfics. Now back to my fic: If you like it, that's awesome. If not then e-mail me and tell me I suck and should never write again, I might just ignore you though. I'm at Peinsc@hotmail.com ready and waiting to hear all your insults.  
  
Disclaimer: The only character I own in this story is Rain. I made most of him up (there are a few things that have been borrowed) but everything and everyone else is from Marvel comics or Emcee, or someone else. So if you like what you see but hate my character and my crappy editing skills, go look at some of their work.  
  
I know a guy  
  
Things were finally peaceful at Xavier's institute for gifted youngsters, Jean and Scott were back from their honeymoon in Hawaii and it seemed like things were going to stay quiet.... Well as quiet as things could get with a mansion full of mutants.  
  
"NO!!!! I don't believe this! It can't be happening!" Kurt's eyes were wide with panic. He begins smacking his fist against his image inducer.  
  
"Of all the nights it had to be tonight it decides to not work. Wondebahr, how am I gonna tell Shauna." He looked at his indigo fur with disgust. He knew very well that Shauna would prefer that he didn't wear his inducer but tonight was different. They were going to the movie festival downtown and he knew how badly she wanted to go. How could he tell her? Exasperated he sat on his bed and started preparing his speech.  
  
"Hey what's up Kurt? Why so blue?" the question came from Kurt's roommate Bobby.  
  
Bobby appears to be the stereotypical "good boy". Short blond hair, crystal blue eyes and clean cut clothes, he had the look down pat. Mind you, this was only the physical description; personality wise he was a bit of a show-off and liked to use his powers to pull minor pranks. All in all though, he is a pretty good guy.  
  
"Blue! That's just the problem, my inducer's not working and I have a date with Shauna in five minutes!" Kurt knew was getting hysterical but he didn't care, after all none of the other students at the institute had to deal with looking different.  
  
"Why don't you just ask Hank, he's still around and I'm sure he wouldn't mind...?"  
  
"Nein, he already looked at it when he first came here, he wanted to find out how it worked. He was pretty mad when he couldn't understand anything about it." Kurt replied while sulking on his bed.  
  
"That's weird; I thought he was a genius? Did you try asking the professor; after all he gave it to you?"  
  
"He told me that it was hard to find and the original owner wouldn't tell me where he got it. I'm doomed!" groaned Kurt.  
  
"Look it can't be that bad - I mean Shauna wouldn't get all mad because you had to miss one date! She knows you aren't just blowing her off."  
  
"Yeah your right, but I still will have to tell the professor that I broke the inducer. He told me it was really expensive." Kurt let out a sigh. "What if he decides to kick me out?"  
  
"You know he won't do that! I mean Remy's done loads of worse things and the Prof's still kept him." Bobby said with a little bit of resentment. He and Remy were both head over heels and at each other's throats because of Rouge, a girl at the institute (which was stupid because they both knew she can't touch anyone because of her power, but if you don't know that why are you reading this story?) Bobby has since given up chasing Rouge as it was a lost cause, but that didn't mean he was happy about the situation.  
  
"Your right - I guess I might as well tell him now." Kurt got off the bed but carried his gloom with him all the way to the professor's office.  
  
*******  
  
"Um, professor I... is it ok if I... ahem ummm sir? We need to talk." Kurt spat out from the doorway of the headmasters office. The office was a pleasant place. It had a nice view of the grounds and was a comfortable place to sit and talk, or as Remy would say, "spill your guts out."  
  
"Of course, come and sit, you're always welcome to tell me anything." The soothing voice was that of Professor Charles Xavier, a kind and intelligent man who sat across the room from Kurt in his wheelchair.  
  
Kurt look a little surprised at Xavier's response as if he knew why Kurt was here, then again, the professor was a telepath and Kurt knew he could read minds with little difficulty.  
  
Kurt's eyes looked to the floor when he responded, "Professor, I ah ahh I, the inducer you gave me, I kind of broke it."  
  
Xavier's smile dropped, though he didn't seem angry but curious, "How exactly did you break it?"  
  
"I don't know. I just put it on and it wouldn't work... Your going to kick me out now aren't you?"  
  
"No Kurt, I'm not going to kick you out - but I'll need to borrow your inducer for a while to try and find out what's wrong with it."  
  
Kurt meekly placed the inducer in Xavier's outstretched hand.  
  
"But that's not the only problem; me and Shauna - we're going to go to the film festival tonight - how am I going to tell her I can't."  
  
"Well you're free to go if you want to Kurt, but I'm not sure I recommend it. Besides, I'm sure Ms Riley will understand."  
  
"Yeah, I guess I go tell her." replied Kurt as he walked out of the office, letting out another sigh.  
  
******  
  
Kurt took his time to get to the front door. Shauna was already there talking with Rouge.  
  
"Um Shauna, I, I can't go out tonight," Kurt glumly told her everything the happened.  
  
"It's ok Kurt; we'll just do something else instead." Shauna tried to sound sincere but she really wanted to go and the tickets weren't cheap.  
  
"Um I' don't mean ta' interrupt o' nutting, but don't a lot of people dress up' as freaks fo' those things?" the question rang from Rogues 'southern bell' voice.  
  
Kurt immediately brightened "You're a genius Rouge!" he quickly gave her a hug.  
  
"Hey, watch it ya' fool! I don't whan't ta' touch you, I'll probly end up wit' fur!" Rouge roughly shoved him off but smiled at the gratitude Kurt gave.  
  
"Well come on Kurt! We're goanna be late! You can cheat on me later" called Shauna who was already in the car and starting it.  
  
"Me, I would never do such a thing! Bye Rouge and thanks a million"  
  
"Have a' good time Fur Ball."  
  
And with that Kurt was out the door and on his way.  
  
******  
  
The next day Kurt practically leaped out of bed he was beaming from ear to ear as he got dressed. His date went wonderful - the movies were great, Shauna was great and to top it all off people, loved his costume. Kurt sung Beetles songs in German as he pulled on his clothes, and for that he received a pillow to the face.  
  
Kurt looked to the left to find the source of the pillow, Remy Lebeau.  
  
Remy was half hanging out of his bed, his long hair covering most of his face. He had another pillow in hand ready to toss if Kurt decided to sing again, this one was charged.  
  
"Ho' is it dat' someone who went ta' bed at' THREE IN DA' MORNIN' can be so ah'live six hour's later?" Remy groaned as he sat up, eyes half closed, he felt around his nightstand for his pack of cigarettes and promptly lit one.  
  
"I thought professor told you not to smoke in the building?"  
  
"Ah least ma' smoke don't smell of brimstone."  
  
Kurt smiled and shook his head; when he teleported he left a bit of smoke that smelled of brimstone, which he personally thought, wasn't a bad trade off. Remy didn't think so. "See ya later Gambit." and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving Remy sputtering  
  
*****  
  
Kurt reappeared in the kitchen just as Kitty was walking through the wall.  
  
Kurt got himself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table just as Xavier rolled in.  
  
"Kurt I have some bad news. I spent all night trying to get your inducer to work but I've had no luck. I'm sorry but I think it's gone for good."  
  
"Like, couldn't you just get Kurt a new one?" asked Kitty.  
  
"I'm afraid not, the person I bought it off of only had one and didn't make it. I'm sorry Kurt but I think you'll just have to live without one."  
  
Kurt just slumped in his chair, unable to find a response. This was horrible! He didn't like to wear the inducer, but he needed it to go outside without facing ridicule.  
  
"Why don' you just ask tha' man who made it." They all looked over to see Remy leaning on the doorway, looking as tired and as miserable as he did in his bedroom.  
  
"Because I don't know who made it Gambit and neither did the man who sold it to me," Xavier replied, looking a little annoyed but keeping his voice even.  
  
"But I do."  
  
*****  
  
"So Remy, why don't you tell everyone what you just told me." Xavier leaned back in his wheelchair looking across his desk to the red and black- eyed mutant know as Gambit.  
  
They were in Xavier's office along with the faculty who were sitting in various areas of the room (Jean and Scott were sharing a couch, Hank sat nearby Remy in a chair, Storm lounged in a cushy armchair, Logan leaned against the wall and Dr. Michaela St Matthews sat on the windowsill behind the professor.)  
  
"Dat' I know who made Blue boys litl' toy." Remy was enjoying the upper hand in the situation. He liked being able to hold something over his teacher's heads and wanted to stretch this out as long as he could.  
  
Logan decided to hurry things along, "Spill it Gumbo or I'll..."  
  
Michaela cut him short, "Logan calm down and let the boy speak."  
  
"'ank you Cherrie. As I was saying I know da' guy dat' made Kurt's watch."  
  
"And who is it," Jean asked calmly  
  
"His name's Ronin, or dat's the one he gave me." He paused "he worked with my thieves guild a lot. 'E helped with desices and tings like dat'. He would make watches like Kurt's for a good price."  
  
"And how did he make these watches?"  
  
"It's his power; he could bend light and make illusions wit it."  
  
Hank perked up. "So that's why I couldn't find out how it worked. I'm interested to meet your friend Remy. I'd like to see how he does this."  
  
"Ya' me too. It's been 'bout two years but I'm not sure if I can find 'em. He won't be foun' unless he wants to be. I could call a few people; see if they've seen 'em."  
  
"I would be most appreciative Remy, but try not to tell people who we are or why we want him."  
  
So the professor wants to keep this deal silent. I guess I could understand that Remy thought to himself, it made sense afteralll the people who Gambit planned on calling weren't the most respectable bunch. "No problem mon ami."  
  
******  
  
"Yeah I've seen him; talked to him about two days ago - gave me a number in case I had any jobs for him. Why? What you want with Ronin, anyway?" the voice was raspy and filled with mistrust. It belonged to a man named Tommy. He'd been in the crime business for a long time (hell in his case it was a family business.) and has started to go straight (meaning he doesn't whack people as much.) Remy knew he was living in the city, so he thought he'd start with him. After all, Ronin had helped Tommy's family out of a bind and usually hid with them when he needed to get away.  
  
"I just need em to make me one of dem watches fo me," Gambit didn't want to give away more information than that, but he wasn't sure Tommy would be satisfied.  
  
"A'll right, but one question - why you need a watch? I heard you've gone legit or was lying low or something."  
  
"Just in case, I left a lot o' lose ends and don't want them following me," Remy replied a little hastily.  
  
"If you didn't want to tell me why didn't you just say so? Anyway, what's the message you want me to give him."  
  
"I like to call him in person if dat' be ok?"  
  
"Sorry Gambit, no can do! He wants his number unknown but I'll give him a message for you - after all you're a good kid and I owe you from the thing with the guy and the place. So what do you want to tell him?"  
  
"Just tell him to meet me outside BlarnyStone this Saturday at 8:00."  
  
"No problem, talk to you later kid."  
  
"'hanks Tommy"  
  
******  
  
Saturday at 7:45 It was cold and Remy was glad he didn't walk- not that he would have had it been warm. This was all about making an impression. He sat in the back seat of the Professors Austin Martin while Logan was driving. His mind was in turmoil; after all, he hasn't seen this person in two years and he wasn't sure of their standing with each other when they parted ways.  
  
"When we get there, stay in the car."  
  
"Why?" Logan asked  
  
"Cuz you're hairy form 'ill make 'em edgy and he might not show himself. Also, he might make fun of you on the way home, try and rile you up; make you look stupid so if you can't keep calm just don't say anything."  
  
"Me kid? I'm a model of self restraint," Logan looked back with a grin.  
  
"Maybe you should shut up and drive," the statement cost Remy a nasty glare and likely a harder combat class tomorrow, but it was worth it.  
  
They pulled up just outside the pub and Remy climbed out of the back, looked around, but he couldn't see anyone suspicious so he walked up to a nearby lamppost to wait.  
  
*******  
  
After half an hour, and dozens of homeless and drunks asking him for money, Remy was starting to get impatient, and by the look on Logan's face from in the car, so was he.  
  
"Excuse me mate, do you have a cigarette?" asked a man who was obviously Australian from the accent. He looked around forty with a balding head and a pit of a pot belly.  
  
Remy sighed "Yeah sure." This wasn't him, Ronin never smoked; he thought it was a weakness. He pulled out his pack and offered the man one.  
  
"Yuck, you smoke that cheap junk? Never mind." The man said in disgust.  
  
Remy shrugged his shoulders and put the cigarette in his own mouth. He wasn't in the mood to argue with anyone and he'd much rather have this man just leave him alone. Eyeing Logan in the car, he lit it. Not as if he'd care - he smokes more than I do Remy thought to himself.  
  
The Australian man started to walk off, then checking his wrist; he cursed and looked back at Remy. "Sorry ta bug you again mate, but do you have the time? Some bugger's gone stolen my watch." The bald man gave a mischievous grin.  
  
Remy smiled, "Wow Ronin, you've really let yourself go," He remarked slyly.  
  
"I've never heard of a Ronin, names Rain, Joseph Rain, and I hear you're that man to talk to about watches." The Australian was grinning from ear to ear. "Nice to see you again, Remy."  
  
"Com'on mon'ami, lets get to dat' man dats buy'in."  
  
"You mean the hairy fellow in the car?"  
  
******  
  
Logan looked at the kid in his review mirror, yeah he was a kid, maybe a little older than Remy, but he wasn't any old bald Auzzie. He was a young short Asian and looked even more like a punk then Gambit. His hair was a mess of black spikes and he wore baggy clothes that had a few holes in them. His eyes were nearly black; he had a piercing on his right brow, not to mention the others on his ears and an odd-looking necklace around his neck. The pendant looked like it was made of jade and it was carved into a Japanese character, it meant Karma but Logan wasn't sure how he knew that.  
  
He looked like any normal street kid and Logan didn't like him one bit. He heard the comment made about him outside and was about to shout one back, but he remembered why they needed him and kept his mouth shut like Remy advised. Meanwhile, the two of them talked in the back seat about old times. Logan thought most of it was bullshit. These were just kids and there was no way they could have done half the stuff they were bragging about.  
  
Although Remy's friend did have one good streak about him, unlike Remy he didn't brag (or lie) about any girls he had been with, whereas Remy (who was supposed to be dating Rouge) wouldn't shut up. He kept talking about this girl and that girl. It was all bullshit and Logan was never happier to pull into the institute then he was tonight. This neadless to say, had been a very long drive.  
  
******  
  
"So it's true then, you have gone soft," said Rain as they walked up to the professor's office. "Stooped low enough to mooch off some poor old man and his students."  
  
"What! Remy LeBeau, Master of T'ives never goes soft," Remy replied stiffing that last comment struck a nerve. After all, he got caught twice trying to steal from these people so maybe he had gone soft, but by the looks of things, Ronin hadn't slowed down one bit. His friend still had that calculating gase, Remy say the way he immediately sized up Logan in the car, the way he noted all the quickest routes out of the mansion as they pulled up and the ay he did this all with only Remy noticing.  
  
Realizing he may have crossed a line, Rain decided to show some support, "But I got to hand it to ya', you landed a pretty nice place and for free too."  
  
"Alright, enough, from you! The Professor's through 'dis door."  
  
"You ani't coming?"  
  
"Nope, but I'll meet up wit' you later. I gotta go see a girl,"  
  
"Yeah... Right..." rolling his eyes, Rain opened the door. "Hey Chuck! Happy to see me?"  
  
*******  
  
Xavier looked at the boy who opened the door with an open eyes and mouth. He had met this boy before. He looked much different now. But there was no forgetting the particular mental shield, or those calculating eyes that scanned the room without anyone really noticing. Could this really be Tenchu, the boy he met in Europe and if so, why the change in character? This just got complicated Charles thought to himself.  
  
*******  
  
Jean Summers sat in the office watching the conversation with great interest. The look on Xavier's face worried her. He knew about this boy from somewhere, but didn't seem interested in talking about it after the introductions were made. The boy's alleged name was Joseph Rain, which she didn't believe for a minute The child went straight to business and began asking what happened to the original inducer and whom the new one was for.  
  
"That's 'no of your business," said Logan whom just entered.  
  
"Actually, it's important so I can make the proper sizing and I need to know what happened to the first one so I can make the adjustments." replied Rain quiet calmly. Their was some truth to that but mainly he just wanted to know who was running around with one of his famous toy's.  
  
"Alright, but Kurt's not here right now so you'll have to start tomorrow." Xavier said soothingly. "But if you'd like, we can organize your fee right now?"  
  
"I like the way you do business Professor" said Rain smiling from ear to ear.  
  
That's odd. Jean though he didn't call him Chuck this time.  
  
"Well I paid twenty thousand for the first one; I suppose you want something in that area?" Charles asked with all seriousness.  
  
Hanks jaw dropped and both Logan and Scott coughed.  
  
Twenty thousand! For a Watch! What? Is he nuts? Jean's mind raced; she was sure Xavier heard her thoughts because he glanced at her.  
  
"Hmm. You sure like your students don't you? Actually, I had something else in mind. I was wondering if I could stay here for awhile."  
  
Scott let out a sigh of relief. Logan coughed again.  
  
"Are you sure? I have no problem paying the fee, but if you wish, you're welcome to stay as long as you want." Xavier smiled, but his face looked slightly taut, the boy merely nodded his head.  
  
"Thank you sir, but I have some requests about my stay. I do not wish to be a student and if you need me to help teach with anything, I would be more than happy to... I'm sure you know what I would be best suited for." The last comment left a sickening silence.  
  
"Thank you very much for the offer and I'll take you up on that I'm sure. But first let me get someone to show you to your room."  
  
"Thank you." the boy spoke with even tones the whole time. That alone was driving Jean nuts. Not once in her entire time being here did she see a child so calm and nonchalant about the whole idea of a mansion full of mutants. After all, this boy's friend Remy was dragged into this very office kicking and screaming. Given the choice, Gambit would have surely taken the money. What kind of kid turns down twenty thousand?  
  
Jean reached out mentally to the boy to find out what he was thinking. She hit a solid wall. That's odd, how can there be two of them? (Gambit also had mental defences) Maybe this is why Xavier was so shocked Mentally sliding across the wall looking for a weak spot, Jean found a crack Aha! Not so strong are you now? Let's see what you're hiding! Jean plunged into the crevasse and everything went black.  
  
*******  
  
When Jean awoke she felt the grinding of cement on her back, her wrists hurt and her head had a huge bump on it. She was only able to open one eye. The other was swollen shut. She was in a dimly lit corridor and was being dragged by two large men in uniform. She immediately panicked, and started thrashing around screaming and yelling for help, help from anyone. The men ignored her pleas and she didn't see anyone else. She kept yelling anyway. Her lungs were raw and it hurt her to scream but she didn't care. The men's pace slowed and then stopped. She couldn't see why they wouldn't let her move enough to turn her head. She heard the clicking of locks and the creak of rusty hinges. The men pulled her to her feet then faced her to a door. When she saw the inside of the room she gasped, it was tiny and made completely of stone. "No! Not there! Anywhere but there! I'll be good! I promise! Just don't put me in there!" She tried to break free of their grasp but se couldn't. They were much bigger than her, In fact they seem gigantic to her. She continued to scream as they roughly shoved her into the cell and slammed the door shut. She couldn't see anything but blackness and the cement floor felt freezing. Eventually she gave up yelling and just sat there and wept until she fell asleep.  
  
********  
  
Xavier looked with horror as Jean fell to the floor, screaming in a language she did not know, nor did most people in the room. The boy was in a trance. Looking at the floor, his eyes watered. Xavier wasn't sure who he felt sorrier for - the boy who had to go through that trauma again, Jean who was both confused and scared and not even aware of where she was, or Scott who, despite all efforts, was unable to calm his wife. He just held her helplessly trying to get her to wake up. Charles knew that was useless, but when he tried to speak the words just wouldn't form. Finally, the screams stopped and the boy left his trance. He looked up at Xavier eyes filled with rage until he realized that he was glaring at the wrong person. He looked down at Jean on the floor with disgust, though slightly calmer then before.  
  
The child took in a deep breath, closed his eyed and said "Right then, I'll go get my things and be back here in about an hour. See you all then." Although his voice was even, though Charles could still sense he was fuming.  
  
Rain turned to leave, only to find Logan standing in his way.  
  
"You're not going anywhere bub." Wolverine had his claws out and his footing was ready to spring and tear the child's head off.  
  
The boy shifted his footing ever so slightly getting ready for the huge man to attack him.  
  
"Logan, LOGAN! Let him go! I'll explain everything, MOVE LOGAN!" Xavier rarely yelled at anyone but this was a very serious situation and he didn't think either other of the foes knew who he was dealing with.  
  
Logan stepped aside; as he did, he said, "After you get back I'm goanna teach you some respect for the ladies."  
  
"Only if you teach her some respect first," the boy replied coldly.  
  
As he stepped out the door he looked down to see a small Chinese girl leaning against the wall. She wasn't alone. There were a number of kids listening in on the meeting. He looked over to Gambit who was leaning against the far wall in the hallway, his eyes were focused at his shoes.  
  
"Remy, don't you teach these kids anything!" looking down at the little girl he whispered, "Use a glass next time - you can hear much clearer."  
  
Jubilee nodded dumbly, quite shaken and by the frightening boy who just spoke to her.  
  
Sighing Rain looked over to Remy again, "I need a ride. Can you borrow one of the cars?"  
  
"Go ahead Remy," called Xavier from back in the office. "The rest of you come in here. I only what to explain this once."  
  
*******  
  
Xavier looked around the room, now very full because it held most of his students, and all of his staff (save Dr. Michaela and Kurt who were at the church like they were every Saturday night). He sighed. This would take a while.  
  
"First, let's clear one thing up. Rain was not the one at fault for what happened here tonight." There were many looks of doubt and outright protests from Scott and Logan. In fact, the only one that seemed to somewhat agree with him was Jean. "Jean, though not deserving of that punishment, was the true cause of this."  
  
"Bullshit!"  
  
"Logan, be silent. I'm trying to explain this. Jean did you try to read Rain's mind?"  
  
Jean slowly nodded and avoided eye contact with everyone. Xavier wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or still in shock because of what happened.  
  
"When you reached out to his mind you found a wall and in that wall you found a crack. You did what any normal person would do - you went to investigate." He paused, taking a breath. "When you did, you ran straight into one of Rain's memories."  
  
"That was a memory? But I don't understand! It felt so real! I've never felt like that in a memory."  
  
"That's because Rain has a photographic memory and the crack was a trap; he hates telepaths."  
  
"So he did attack her, that little bastard." Growled Logan  
  
"LOGAN, BE SILENT OR LEAVE! I'M TRYING TO TALK!"  
  
Logan looked like he was about to say something, but stayed silent.  
  
"Rain has had many run-ins with telepaths and many have died for the things they learned. I was the first to enter his mind and live to talk about it. He has many secrets that he doesn't want people to know, so he learned how to shield himself from telepaths. Eventually he learned that his shields, although strong, could still be broken, so he broke it himself. He made a crack in his wall and laced it with all of his most horrible memories and the only way for a telepath to free him was to either go through all the memories or be released by Rain. Jean was lucky; when I met Rain he would have never released a person from his trap even if they didn't mean to snoop."  
  
"So you went through that?"  
  
"Yes, and much worse. His memories get darker as you go deeper and because of his photographic memory there is no way to tell the difference from reality and his mind. But now that you look at it from a detached view, it was very different from how you'd react isn't it?"  
  
"Ya' I guess so. By the way, what language was I talking in?"  
  
"It was Japanese." To everyone's surprise, the reply came from Logan.  
  
"Yes... That's where the memory's from. You may think that Rain is mean to lay a trap for people like that, but for a very long time in his life his mind was the only place he could call his own and he loathes the idea of people looking through it uninvited."  
  
"You said you were the first to survive. What happen to the others?" Scott's question was going to be hard to answer.  
  
"I never asked him and I didn't linger in his mind after I was free. But he told me that I was the first to get all the way through without going insane and because I left without snooping, he gave me one of the greatest gifts I have ever had. He let me into his mind once more to live in a memory of him running on the Great Wall of China. It was one of the most amazing feelings I've experienced. This was only a few years after I had lost the ability to walk and because of his photographic memory I could walk again." It was Xavier's turn to have tear-filled eyes.  
  
Logan looked slightly ashamed as he watched all of the student's leave; he felt stupid about the way he acted and angry that the boy had made a fool out of him.  
  
"Logan, could you, Peter and Bobby help our guest move in? I'm sure he has several things that are too heavy for him to carry alone."  
  
Logan let out a sigh. "Sure Chuck, but I sure don't think this kid staying is a good idea."  
  
"I understand, but he truly meant Jean no harm and it was partly my fault for not warning her."  
  
"Don't be too hard on yourself Chuck. It looked like to me you didn't know who he was till he was here."  
  
"Yes, but I don't know how Jean's going to feel about giving Rain a physical tomorrow and I think we shouldn't let Mechelia do any sessions with him. I'm not sure how he feels about empaths."  
  
Logan laughed. "Have fun telling Minka that she can't dissect that kid's head after she hears about what happened."  
  
"Actually, I was hoping you would."  
  
*******  
  
The Next Morning:  
  
Logan let out a groan for two reasons when he woke up this morning. One - Charles wasn't kidding when he said the kid would have a lot of stuff! When Rain came back he was driving a pickup and the back was full of long metal boxes, not to mention a motorbike.  
  
The second reason was that he was in his room and not Mika's, and it was all Charles's fault. Logan didn't see her and Kurt come in so, she got the full story from Storm first. When Logan told her she wasn't allowed to counsel the new kid she went ballistic. He liked her when she was all riled up, but thought it might not be a good idea to put moves on a girl that just smashed a vase over his head. Logan grumbled as he got up to take a shower "Knew this kid is more trouble then he's worth."  
  
Rain woke up feeling quite refreshed despite what happened last night. He surveyed the room; it was a very nice place. He could see why Remy stayed here. The room fully furnished with a bathroom that had a shower and a working toilet. Yeah, he could defiantly get used to living here, not to mention the opportunities: that kid Peter - he would be great for bank heist and the kid who needed the watch, Remy said he could teleport...no, no, no, dammit, Ronin, you're trying to go legit, not turn this place into some outfit for thieving!   
  
He continued looking about the room. When he noticed a note that had been slid under his door, he navigated around and over the still packed boxes, then bent down to pick it up. The envelope was sealed so he carried it back his bed, flipped over the pillow and picked up the knife in hiding. After opening the letter, he glanced at the nicely scripted handwriting.  
  
Rain smiled "Wow Chuck! You already have my schedule ready - guess you want to keep me out of trouble, eh?" He looked over to the bedside clock; it was already 10:30. Not wanting to be late, he had a quick shower and threw on some clothes he found in the dresser, (wincing slightly as he looked at the school symbol on the shirt.), then quickly dashed out the door.  
  
*******  
  
I didn't take him long to find the health ward - he just asked one of the kids for direction. If he hadn't he would never have found the elevator hidden in the wall. Because he was a little early and DR. Summers wasn't, he just sat on the operating table and waited.  
  
Jean walked in not even looking at him and said "Take off your shirt and let's get started."  
  
"You know doc, it's hard to do a physical if you don't even look at the patient." There was dead silence, "OK maybe we got off on the wrong foot last night. Hi, I'm Rain." He provided an outstretched hand that was not shaken. "Look, I'm sorry you had to go through that but I don't regret doing it."  
  
Jean finally responded, "How could someone do that to another person?"  
  
"Well that was my head you were snooping in."  
  
"No, that's not what I mean. How could someone throw a little kid into solitary confinement?"  
  
"Quite easily - you see when you're little you weigh less and it's much easier to be tossed." He was trying to make light of the situation and didn't feel like explaining his past to some person he hardly knew. "Is it ok if we just get this physical over with?"  
  
"Yeah sure. Just take off your shirt and all metallic objects and we can start."  
  
Rain obeyed and Jean looked at his build, mildly impressed. For a kid who was in prison he kept surprisingly good care of his body. He was well built, almos amusingly so given his size but it was more than that, he didn't have any scars or marks of abuse.  
  
Just as they he was about to get a CAT scan he jumped up "O' wait a sec - forgot something!" The boy reached down and lifted up his pant leg to reveal a band wrapped around his ankle.  
  
The band had a small light on it. As he removed the band his features changed... slightly.  
  
Jean gasped. He looked the same as before except for a few significant changes: two scars had appeared on his face, one parallel with his jawbone and the other crossed over it making an "X" on his right cheek. He now also had other various scars on his chest, and arms and on his back, there were three tattoos. They all looked to be Japanese characters.  
  
"What are they?" Jean asked gesturing to the tattoos on his back.  
  
"They are names." He gestured to the one on his right shoulder blade, "That one's Tenchu." He pointed to the one on the left, "This one is Hitokiri Batousai, and the one in the middle is Ronin."  
  
The rest of the physical was completed in dead silence. Rain gathered that Jean wasn't in the mood for talking.  
  
******  
  
Xavier rolled into the medical wing eager to hear Rain's results, he had been wondering about, the boy's gift more and more since he arrived, it must have manifested since Europe if he was able to build the watch and he was also curious to see if he had been taking care of himself. "So how is he?" Charles asked as he pulled up beside Dr. Summers who was examining the boy's cat scan photo's.  
  
"He's in good condition considering the mileage. Only a minor chip in ht shoulder blade and a small abnormality in the spine, it looked like a fracture that didn't heal properly. The interesting part's his head; look at the muscle formations around his eyes, their way above normal, his vision is off the charts as well as his hearing not to mention his optic nerves are about twice the normal size."  
  
"Did he explain it?" "He wasn't aware that their was any difference," Jean replied honestly, her and the boy didn't talk much during the physical.  
  
"Was their anything else you can tell me?"  
  
"He does have a drinking problem that's for sure, his liver has some damage but it still works theirs also some particles in his lungs that are found in Opium," Jean said slowly, she wasn't sure how the Professor would take that last part.  
  
Charles nodded, "Did the opium deposits look recent?" he new a bit of Rain's past problems with drug abuse but from what he knew the boy stuck mainly to alcohol to numb his pain.  
  
"It's hard to say, it could be recent if the dosages were small or it could be old and the lungs haven yet managed to clean them," Jean was guessing it was the later, well hoping anyway, the last thing this school needed was a drug addict to add to it's masses.  
  
******  
  
Dr. Michaela St Matthews walked swiftly down the hallway, looking left and right down every corridor. She was on a mission and still furious that Logan said she couldn't question this boy. What did he know about therapy? He was as withholding as a rock! She finally found the boy playing cards with Remy in the rec room.  
  
Walking up, she said sweetly, "Hello you must be Rain. I'm Dr. St Matthews and you have an appointment with me. I've been looking everywhere for you."  
  
The boy looked at his watch and then looked back up smiling, "Sure, but can we make this quick? I have to work on Kurt's watch in about an hour."  
  
"Certainly, right this way." She was a little surprised. She expected him to argue and try to get out of it.  
  
As they step into her office he looked around, "Nice place, easy on the eyes."  
  
"That's the idea, so lets get started I want to know as much about you as I can." Sitting down, she took out her pen and logbook and asked, "You don't mind if I write this down do you?"  
  
Rain paused, "No problem, so where do you want to start,"  
  
"Where were you born?"  
  
"The Philippines. I was abandoned when I was about five; that's when I started thieving for a living."  
  
She smirked Just like Remy - cocky as hell She reached out to sense his emotions and Found that he was being serious. If he seemed a little uncomfortable about something but she shouldn't pin it down, his past maybe, his face sure didn't show it. She decided to move on. "So the memory you showed Jean last night, that was in the Philippines?"  
  
"No, that was in China. I moved their when I was ten because it seemed like a better place to steal. It had bigger cities and so I thought there would be better places to hide. But I was wrong and got put in jail for a few months." He spoke nonchalantly but his emotions were mixed but he seemed pained to think about it. "What else would you like to know?"  
  
This is amazing! thought Dr. Michaela. They talked for nearly two hours, going back and forth through parts in his life. She had never had a more open patient, and the things he told her were incredible. Once she got his entire story she would definitely ask if she could add it to her book.  
  
******  
  
Rain entered Xavier's office at 2:20, "Sorry I'm late - I got held up with the councillor. Man she sure wanted to know a lot about me."  
  
"You had a session with Dr. Michaela? How did that go?" Xavier asked with concern. He really didn't want Rain to feel pressured to give out his life story and make a mental note to ask Michaela himself to leave the boy alone. After all, Charles knew a great deal about the child's past and didn't want Michaela to push him too hard. He knew for a fact that the boy inside Rain named Tenchu would push back.  
  
"Not bad. She's a pretty nice lady. The wings caught me a little off guard but otherwise it went fine." Rain decided to change the subject. He turned his attention to the two other people in the room, both had blue fur but the one that caught his eye was the smaller and less confident of the too. He seemed to try to hide himself in the brown couch he was sitting in, "You must be Kurt I've heard a lot about you. My names Rain and I'll be making a watch for you today."  
  
Kurt looked a little surprised. The person he heard about sounded much taller and older and a lot more frightening than this boy facing him. But he smiled and nodded anyway.  
  
"Well lets get started, all my equipments in my room. I thought we could work there."  
  
"I don't see why not, but if you don't mind Dr. McCoy would like to go with you. He's been very interested to see how you do this." Charles asked, gesturing to the other blue person in the room.  
  
Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, stood in the far corner of the room. Stepping forward he said, "Thank you. I spent days trying to learn the secrets of you work but found myself unable." He looked slightly ashamed about the failure.  
  
"That's understandable. After all, it's not a thing of logic - it's more like art. Well, let's get going then."  
  
******  
  
Kurt entered the room a little nervous. He was scared at the mention of equipment and wasn't sure what he'd have to do. The room was covered with long metal boxes, which were only a little wider than a briefcase but at least five feet long. As soon as Rain entered he began opening and closing them searching for whatever he needed. There were all sorts of weird things in the cases: computer equipment, identification cards and one box he opened and slammed shut very quickly - eyeing Mr. McCoy to see if he saw the contents. Kurt only saw a flash of what was inside. It looked like various weapons; Kurt averted his eyes quickly, avoiding Rain's scrutiny.  
  
"Ah, here we are," he picked up the last box and heaved it onto the bed. Inside were dozens of watches of all types and sizes, carefully laid out so he could see all of them.  
  
"Are those Rolexes?" asked Hank, pointing to a group of watches near the top.  
  
"Yep, but I think it would look a little odd if our friend here had one of 'em." He continued scanning through the box. "Here, this one should do," he held up a simple Timex watch, the kind most young people wore.  
  
"Looks fine to me." Kurt said still a little nervous  
  
"Alright, put it on and let's get started." Kurt did as he was told as Rain pulled more things out of the box. "Here put these on. It'll get pretty bright for a while," he handed Kurt and Hank each a pair of dark sunglasses. He also gave Kurt a simple wrist band with a light on it. Put that on too. I'm going to make you a spare in case this one breaks."  
  
"Thanks," Kurt said with relief, he had heard how much the watch cost from jubilee and was more than a little worried about replacing the second.  
  
Hank and Kurt put on the glasses; neither could see anything, then suddenly the room became very bright.  
  
"So - what exactly are you doing?" asked Mr. McCoy voice filled with interest.  
  
"I'm amplifying the light on the watch and then I'm going to bend the light so all of it points at Kurt." He paused, "Kurt, this is going to take a few hours I hope you're ok standing there. Kurt grunted in agreement.  
  
After three hours Kurt's body began to glow with light.  
  
"Now that I shaped the light, I'm going to colour the rays until they look realistic. This is what's going to take time."  
  
He wasn't joking. Kurt had to continue standing still for hours but it wasn't so bad. Rain made small talk, asking little questions like how old he was, where he grew up, did he have a girlfriend. The last topic lasted for a long time. Kurt didn't mind telling Rain about Shauna because Rain didn't tease him or make rude comments like most kids. He just talked and asked more questions. Rain smiled when Kurt told him that every time he saw Shauna he gave her a flower. "Not too bad with women are you?" Kurt started to feel much more comfortable around him. He didn't seem to be a very biased person because he never argued with Kurt, he just tried to keep the conversation flowing.  
  
Mr. McCoy stayed quiet the entire time. He seemed too transfixed by what was happening to comment. Kurt couldn't blame him. It was all quite amazing. Rain was right, the process was art. It was though he was painting on Kurt and his masterpiece was slowly starting to take shape. After Hank's first question, Rain explained everything that he was doing as he worked. Finally, he was finished; Rain stood back and smiled basking in the glory of his work.  
  
"Not bad if I do say so myself."  
  
Kurt walked over to the mirror to examine himself, "It's perfect! Exactly like before!"  
  
"I'm glad you approve. But don't go running around town just yet. Try wearing it around the mansion for a few days so we can correct any flaws."  
  
"Thanks a million Rain," Kurt offered out his hand, Rain shook it  
  
"Oh, and one more thing. I think you girlfriend would like this." He pulled out a thin, round touch light. When he touched the light to turn it on, a rose appeared hovering in the air just above it.  
  
"I used to sell these on eBay and made a bit of a profit. I thought you might want one to give to her."  
  
"Thanks! She'll love it," wide-eyed Kurt took the light, cradling it like it was made of glass.  
  
"No problem. Now the both of you get out of my room! I'm going to unpack."  
  
*******  
  
"You wanted to see me Professor?" asked Dr. Michaela, as she walked into the office.  
  
"Yes. It's about Rain; I thought I asked Logan to tell you not to have a session with him."  
  
"So you're the one who tried to stop me! Why? I don't understand! You always wanted me to create a file on everyone here. Why not him?" She looked very angry and Xavier couldn't really dispute he did tell her that when she first came to work for him.  
  
"Rain is very different from the other students here. He...."  
  
"What do you mean? He's just like them! He is the most open person at this institution! He told all about his childhood and it didn't sound much worse then Remy's. The only real difference is that Rain was born in the Philippines!"  
  
"The Philippines?"  
  
"Yes! Till he was ten, then he moved to China."  
  
Xavier would have laughed if Michaela didn't look so angry. "Michaela, Rain was born in Japan - he never lived in the Philippines."  
  
******  
  
Logan pulled Scott's bike up beside his favourite bar. He liked this place because it was quiet and nobody bugged him. He strode up to the bar, looking around as he did. The place was full tonight but still quiet, just a few people chatting over their beer. He sat at the only empty stool at the bar and ordered his usual brand; he knew he'd have more, maybe more than he should, but he didn't care. What he did to himself was his choice. He looked up at the mirror behind the bar as the bartender poured from the tap; his eyes went wide as he saw who was beside him in the reflection. Looking over he said, "Ain't you a little young to be here kid?"  
  
"That's what he asked too.,." replied Rain, gesturing to the bartender. He pulled out his wallet and slid it down the counter as bartender handed him a glass of whisky.  
  
Logan flipped it open and looked at the driver's license; it said he was 22, "People actually believe this?"  
  
"Course they do - it's as real as any others here."  
  
"There's no way your 22."  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine. Why? You goanna tell on me?"  
  
"No, but I am!" both of them looked to see Michaela standing in the doorway.  
  
"Ha! You're in trouble now kid," Logan laughed as Rain just shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Logan! How could let him drink?"  
  
"Quiet down! He's legal age Mika. Here, see for yourself," Logan handed her Rain's wallet.  
  
Looking it over she scowled, "This is as fake as the story you gave me this afternoon." She was glaring at Rain.  
  
"I don't know - ask the state of California - they gave it to me."  
  
"So, is that where you grew up?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Then where? Why hide your past? What are you - some kind of mass murder or something?" She was now looking quite sceptically at the boy who now drained his whisky in one gulp.  
  
"Actually, I prefer Assassin or Hit man." the boy replied, gazing at his empty glass.  
  
"Your lies aren't going to work this time. I don't know how you are able to hide your emotions, but I'm not going to be made a fool of twice."  
  
"Too late Mika, he's not lying," the both looked over at Logan with surprise.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"You heard me, Mika. Jean came to me this afternoon asking me if I could translate a few words for her from Japanese. One of words was Tenchu. It means "The Wrath of Heaven". When I asked why she wanted to know, she told me the kid had it tattooed on his back. That got me thinking. I remembered hearing in the news a few years ago about a Hit man in Europe and Asia that called Tenchu. He was good and nobody has ever seen him. People just know him because of the notes he leaves on his victims."  
  
"Things like 'Sorry about the mess and 'Apologies to the maid.' Yeah, I know it's cheesy, but I needed to get recognized to get more jobs and I did feel sorry for them. It's hard for some people to not get sick at the sight of a dead person." Rain said as he stood up and slowly headed for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Michaela blurted, it was the only thing she seemed to be able to say, for when he turned she froze in her tracks.  
  
"To find another bar. This one has gotten too quiet for my taste and I have a bigger reason to get drunk now." With that, Rain was out the door.  
  
Michaela surveyed the room. Rain was right, the bar was dead silent and everyone was staring at her and Logan.  
  
Logan paid the bartender for both his and Rain's drinks, took Rain's wallet from Michaela's hand and headed for the door.  
  
"And what about you?" Michaela asked as she followed him outside.  
  
"I'm going after him. I think he'll need a ride home."  
  
She stared to follow but Logan turned around, "I think you should go home Mika. I don't think now's a good time to give the kid a therapy session." Logan said coldly, somewhat accusingly as he walked down the road looking for Rain.  
  
Michaela stood alone in the quiet street, quite hurt by what Logan said and feeling a little ashamed about how she treated Rain.  
  
*******  
  
Logan easily followed the boy's scent to the new bar. This one was a little louder than the last.  
  
He stepped in. This time Rain was sitting at a table in the corner and instead of the glass of whisky, he had a large bottle of it.  
  
"Guess you didn't need this," Logan said handing over the wallet.  
  
"Nope. I used one of my other ones, but a kind gesture none the less." he replied as Logan asked the waitress for a beer.  
  
They sat in silence for a long time, just drinking; Logan was beginning to like this kid; he hated to drink with people who talked the whole time.  
  
When Rain's bottle was nearly finished he broke the silence, "Sssoooo now thaatt you's knooww, whaat dooo you's 'dink?" he slurred holding his arms out for inspection.  
  
"I think you have had enough to drink; come on lets go back kid."  
  
"'Dink I sshould 'dink 'day still wwwahnt me?"  
  
"Don't worry, Xavier will still let you come back."  
  
"It'ss not Chuck I'm wworied aboot, it's evvreyboddy elsse. Hhow aree 'day goonaa lookk att mee?"  
  
"Fuck everyone else, they're ignorant. Now are you ok to ride on the back of a bike?" This was Logan's extent of pep talk at the moment.  
  
"Ssuure."  
  
They paid their tab and headed out the door. Rain stumbling slightly along the way. Logan was impressed - he didn't know a lot of people who could stand after that much to drink. let alone walk. After all, he knew for a fact that Scott got drunk off three glasses of champagne at his wedding and this kid was at least 6 years younger than him not to mention half his size. The only one thing could let a boy that big be able to drink that much, tolerance, this kid had been drinking for a long time by Logan's guess, supposed that was fair the kid had a lot of things he likely wanted to forget.  
  
********  
  
They climbed on Scott's bike and drove home. Rain nearly fell off twice but didn't say anything. When they reached the school, there were still a few lights on inside. Both groaned at the same time, neither of them were in the mood for a lecture weren't about to put up with one. They climbed off the bike and started up the stairs.  
  
"'Dank's Logan."  
  
"No problem kid. I'll see you tomorrow bright an early." He smiled as the kid laughed.  
  
"Noottt a chance, mmabey att dinner." With that, Rain was down the hall hald walikg half crawling for his room. Logan smiled as he left; the kid wasn't bad, not bad at all. He started towards his room when he heard footsteps and sensed the smell of vanilla.  
  
"Logan?" Michaela asked, her voice was quiet and soft - not filled with anger like before.  
  
"What Mika?"  
  
"Is he mad at me?"  
  
"I don't know, he didn't say, but I doubt it." The kid didn't seem like the kind of person to hold a grudge.  
  
Michaela let out a sigh of relief, "I felt pretty bad about how I treated him at the bar, but he startled me a little - I mean - how do you react to that?"  
  
"With pity or respect. The kid's made of tuff stuff, he'll be fine."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
Logan walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, then leaned in to kiss her. She didn't resist. When she first met him she kicked him in the groin for trying, but now she admitted she has feelings for him as he has for her.  
  
"So am I allowed to go back to your room now that I cleaned up your mess?" he asked.  
  
"You Bastard!" she yelled. Probably wakening up a good number of students,Sse didn't care and she led him off to her room despite the comment.  
  
*******  
  
Rain woke up at a painfully early hour to an annoying beeping sound. When he looked over to his bedside clock, he realizes there was a new one on top of it. He hit the snooze button, but it didn't work. Deciding to take a more drastic measure, he threw the offending clock at the wall shattering it to pieces and leaving a sizable mark on the wood panelling. He got up, holding his head as if trying to squash away the pain, and moved to the bathroom. He was relieved to find the floor wasn't covered in vomit like he feared. Climbing into the shower still wearing his boxers, he turned on the cold water and sat there.  
  
When he got out, he looked over to his door and saw another note. This one was just folded, not sealed. When he opened it, two pills fell out  
  
He laughed, gobbled the two pills, got dressed, and headed for Xavier's office, thinking best to get this over with.  
  
******  
  
Charles looked across the desk as the young man walked into his office. He was a mess. Rain eyes were bloodshot and he had an unfocused appearance that was only amplified by the dark circles under his eyes.  
  
"I take it you were the kind soul who gave me a new clock."  
  
"No, this school has its fair share of pranksters like anywhere else, but I am glad to see you up so early." replied Charles smiling. He would have felt bad for Rain's current condition but he didn't approve of drunkenness.  
  
"Well, can we make this quick then? I have to avenge my stolen sleep."  
  
"Don't worry, I won't be long. First, you'll be happy to know that you may still stay here. Second, I have found a new job for you."  
  
"Great! Does it involve Tylenol?"  
  
"Actually, it likely does. It is driving lessons. You see, one of our students, Jubilee, has recently received her learners licence and we need someone to teach her how to drive."  
  
"Sounds fun. I'll start tomorrow. By the way, why me?"  
  
"Well.... all the other staff has tried but they found it a little too hard to handle her while she drove. I should also mention that she totalled Scott's car."  
  
"Great... I'll do it... no problem... just so long as its not today." Rain stood up and left.  
  
*******  
  
Rain walked down the hallway, his head still pounding. He checked his watch. It was still only 7:30 but he thought that he'd pay Remy a visit anyway. After all, he was convinced that Remy was the only other person in this school that could pick a lock and doubted Kurt ported in (if he smelled brimstone last night he would have surely have puked). When he reached the door, he listened for noises. He heard nothing so he tapped into another gift he had. Only few knew about his ability to make a cushion of sound around his shoes (yes he could not only control light but sound as well.) The door's lock was easy to pick. He just used one of his driver's licenses and was in the room. Hmm what would Remy value most? he thought too himself as he rummage through his friend's stuff. Ahh here! He put on Remy's coat then took all his playing cards. He wasn't finished there, he scoured the room for every cigarette pack, including the one hidden under his bed. Satisfied with what he had, he picked up a felt from the desk and began to write a note to his dear friend Remy LeBeau.  
  
*******  
  
Remy awoke to the sound of laughter.  
  
He opened his eyes to see Kurt and Bobby standing over him laughing.  
  
"What 'd hell's wrong wit you two?"  
  
"Nothing- but you got loads of problems, see for yourself." Bobby said smirking as he pointed at Gambit's chest.  
  
Looking down Remy saw that there was a message written right on his skin.  
  
Remy let out a groan and reached out for a pack of cigarettes. Finding none he cursed and started out the room groping at the coat hanger where his coat usually hung. Finding it missing, he cursed again and stormed down the hall to the rec room.  
  
*******  
  
"Hey Gambit- how's it hanging?" Jubilee asked looking at him with surprise. He didn't bother to put any clothes on and didn't intend to until he had a cigarette. Wearing only boxers, he started tearing apart the rec room, not giving any notice to the people watching.  
  
"Yet even more proof that smoking is addictive," said Bobby walking in the scene, beaming from ear to ear.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Kitty, still staring at Remy as he stuck his head under the desk.  
  
"Aha! Not as smart as you thought eh, mon'ami?" offered Gambit triumphantly, as he pulled out a deck of cards and another note that was taped under the coffee table.  
  
"Has he gone mental?" asked Jubes.  
  
"No, he's just been depriving certain drunken people of their sleep and now has to do a scavenger hunt for some of his stuff."  
  
"Rain was a little ticked, was he?"  
  
"Looks that way! Man, I'm glad I didn't get involved." Bobby shook his head as he watched Remy read the note then crumple it in frustration.  
  
Bobby picked up the crumpled note as Gambit left stalking down the hall. He read it out loud.  
  
"Dear Nicotine addict  
  
You found one pack of cards. There're seven more to go. I saved all your smokes till last. I think I'll tip you off - you'll find the last clues to you cards in your coat, which is in a high place.  
  
Ronin  
  
Ps. You better hurry - you don't want to miss Logan's combat class this afternoon.  
  
Bobby and Kitty burst into laughter. Jubilee looked worried.  
  
"Jubes, what's wrong?"  
  
"I hope Rain's in a better mood tomorrow; I have driving lessons with him."  
  
*******  
  
Later that day:  
  
Logan surveyed his class with a menacing look. "Where's the damn Cajun?"  
  
"Um, Mr. Rain gave him an alternative lesson today sir." Replied Kurt as the rest of the class burst into laughter.  
  
"Did he? Well I'll deal with them both later. Now for the rest of you, lets get started."  
  
Groans filled the training ground.  
  
*********  
  
Remy was furious! He spent four hours looking for his stolen stuff and got into a great deal of trouble in the process. He found his coat on the school roof. It was hanging off a very long pole that he had to climb up to reach. The cards were easier to locate, but cost him loads of lectures: one was in the professor's bedroom; two were in Peter's room. The giant tin teen was not happy to wake up to Remy flipping over his mattress while he was still in it. Three were in Dr. Michaela's office - he had a lot of explaining to do when he walked in wearing only a trench coat and his boxers! The rest were taped under Scott's bike. Now he was heading to the Health ward. The last note said that his smokes would be near Jean.  
  
He stepped into the med hall where Dr Summers was working. "Um, excuse me Doc..." he was cut short.  
  
"The package Rain left for you is on the operating table. He told me not to touch it and to wait here till you showed up. I think I'll leave before you start."  
  
Looking at her with a confused expression, he moved towards the operating table. On the table there was a large wooden crate with a note attached. He leaned forward to read.  
  
Remy pulled out all his lock picks with a sigh when did Rain get the time to do all this, he was supposed to be hung-over till tomorrow, ; this was going to take a while.  
  
*********  
  
Two and a half long hours later he heard the final click of the lock. He opened the lid to the box hesitantly. Seeing his cigarettes were in tact, he let out a sigh of relief. He then looked with dismay at another note - this one was taped to the lid.  
  
Gambit frantically grabbed all his packs and stuffed them in his coat as he ran out the door. About three seconds later, he heard a boom followed by a large splat. He poked his head inside the room and let out a long stream of curses in both French and English. The whole room was covered in paint. He turned back to see Dr. Summers peering over his shoulder at her destroyed lab.  
  
"I hope you're going to clean this up because I'm not."  
  
Gambit sighed and took the mop from Jean's hand. Alright Ronin. He thought as he lit a cigarette You win this round - but now it's war!   
  
The End Part of Part One 


End file.
